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Who’s Looking Out For You?

Parade Magazine (Sept. 21, 2003) carried a review of Bill O’Reilly’s book by the above title. I have not read the book, but some of the comments are worthy of careful consideration.

“Are you looking out only for yourself, for Numero Uno?” If you are, if you are a poster child for ‘The Me Generation,’ I have something to tell you. You are in dire trouble.

Here’s the ‘no spin’ truth: America and France lead the world in self-absorption. The U.S.A. is the most powerful country the world has ever seen, but our culture has been polluted by the ‘where’s mine?’ theme. We see it everywhere—in constant advertising about possessions and good times, and products to make us look as buff and alluring as possible…

This addiction to acquisition takes a lot of money, energy and thought. And all of that thought is about you...If you’re always thinking about yourself, you’ll rarely look out for anyone else. And you’ll soon run out of what you must have for a full, rich life: People who will look out for you…

Adults rarely change unless desperately motivated to do so. No matter how good, kind, generous and loving you are, the heavy odds are that an emotionally damaged person will remain damaged, and a bad person will remain bad no matter what you do. Walk briskly away from destructive people and find generous people to hang out with. Then you’ll have a chance of finding an effective support system in life.

In the end, you are not what you eat. Rather, you are whom you associate with. If you run around with despicable people, the heavy odds are that you are despicable as well…People who give you intoxicants, an unnecessary hard time, dishonest answers or anything consistently destructive are to be rejected. Any wavering in this regard, and you are taking the entrance ramp onto the sad-life highway.” One wiser than Mr. O’Reilly said, “Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go. Lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul” (Prov. 22:24,25).

Mr. O’Reilly said “If you embrace honest, caring and strong people, I can almost guarantee that you will have accomplished many things on this Earth.” Then he quoted George Washington’s statement: “Associate yourself with men of quality if you esteem your own reputation, for ‘tis better to be alone than in bad company.”